First some context. The statement came from Microsoft employee Jerry Nixon, a self proclaimed ‘developer evangelist’ who stated: "Right now we’re releasing Windows 10, and because Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, we’re all still working on Windows 10."

If this sounds strange, Microsoft didn't help. The company today stepped forward to defend Nixon’s comment to The Verge saying it was “reflective” of the company’s opinion. So what is going on? Is Windows 10 really the end?

It’s Windows, But Not Like You Know It

The simplistic response is: No. Windows is not going anywhere. What is now clearly and undeniably changing, however, is how Microsoft will brand, develop, update and expect us to pay for Windows after Windows 10.

Microsoft has designed Windows 10 to run everything - Image credit Microsoft

“Windows will be delivered as a service bringing new innovations and updates in an ongoing manner, with continuous value for our consumer and business customers," explained Microsoft in its full statement to the Verge. “We aren’t speaking to future branding at this time, but customers can be confident Windows 10 will remain up-to-date and power a variety of devices from PCs to phones to Surface Hub to HoloLens and Xbox. We look forward to a long future of Windows innovations.”

Extract the marketing speak and what the future appears to be is ‘Windows’ - no version number, just ‘Windows’.

This will be a single, homogenous entity powering all hardware Microsoft has and delivering an ongoing stream of updates. These updates may technically carry code numbers or names, but they won’t be heavily flagged and most users will simply see themselves as running ‘Windows’ - a platform which is always the latest software Microsoft has to offer. That means no more XP, 7, 8.1 or 10 and maybe software which runs iOS and Android apps

But what about ‘free’?

Which brings us to a key question: Microsoft has already stated that anyone who upgrades from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 within a year of its release will get the new platform for “free”. If this were applied to any previous version of Windows that would mean “free for as long as I use it”.

But now it is becoming increasingly clear that under the new vision of an all encompassing ‘Windows as a service’ this will not and cannot be the case. Or can it?

Microsoft’s wording suggests that in being “the last version of Windows” Windows 10 must transform into the all encompassing ‘Windows’ during its life cycle. If not it wouldn't be the last major version of Windows, the subsequent everlasting ‘Windows’ would be.

So how will Microsoft decide where to draw the line with ‘free’? It is highly unlikely that those who move to Windows 10 within the first year will not be charged for a Windows update, upgrade or major new feature ever again.

Personally I think Microsoft will have a fixed point in mind, perhaps much like
Apple does when it draws the line on which devices will get the
next major version of iOS. In other words: the software is free until it’s not… so cross your fingers!

Next page: What is the alternative and will it work?

In Defence of Microsoft: There’s No Decent Alternative

At this point I suspect there are a great many of you who hate this idea. That's not surprising. There remains a powerful appeal to the sense of ownership. DVDs and CDs versus
Netflix and Spotify.

But this is at odds with where software development is heading. In a rapidly moving world it is no longer good enough to work on a major operating system release every 3 to 5 years, push it as a big upgrade which causes upheaval to install and issue Service Packs once a year. The future is evolutionary, ongoing updates where the monetary value cannot be equated to a one-off payment.

In short the last thing Microsoft wants is another Windows XP situation where a single payment at its launch in 2001 resulted in 13 years of free development and tech support followed by customer scorn when it eventually called time. Endless warranties do not make for a practical business model - especially for software which has been pirated time and time again.

Windows 10 on laptop and smartphone - image credit Microsoft

Of course there is an alternative for angry customers: jump ship to any one of hundreds of open source platforms and I'm sure many will (even though a lot also charge for ongoing support, rather than the software itself).

All of which begs a bigger question: has Microsoft got this new Windows strategy right? Personally I think it has, but it comes with the very large caveat of how often and how much users are charged.

I also think it won’t be possible for customers to pressurise Microsoft to go back. Last month Mark Russinovich, CTO of Microsoft’s Azure Cloud platform, admitted the future of Windows could be as open source software. Which ultimately means Microsoft has given more consideration to giving Windows away in future than it has to continuing the existing model.

“Like I said, it’s a new Microsoft” explained Russinovich when pushed on the company’s increasingly clear desire to split from its past.

I am an experienced freelance technology journalist. I have written for Wired, The Next Web, TrustedReviews, The Guardian and the BBC in addition to Forbes. I began in b2b print journalism covering tech companies at the height of the dot com boom and switched to covering con...